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Dispatches from Brooklyn History

Holly Ann Cocco is a high school senior at Park Slope Collegiate Secondary School. Last year Holly participated in an Urban Memory Project and is a guest blogger for UMP this Fall.

DISPATCHES FROM BROOKLYN HISTORY

In the second week of school students from Park Slope Collegiate got the opportunity to attend the Photoville exhibit, which resides in Brooklyn Bridge Park. There, they got a chance to walk around and meet different artists, as well as to observe their work which ranged across the spectrum from immigration matters to the evolution of music. From going around the exhibits, students began to get the idea that Brooklyn is more than just one out of five boroughs.

The senior classes from Collegiate were able to pick up on lessons about photography that will help them in their upcoming projects. From hearing different opinions on yesterday’s trip, it is now clear to the students that Brooklyn is much more than what they saw it as before the trip. Student Gabriella Mateo stated, “It was amazing how the photographers we met all put their effort into photos that can inspire people. This experienced changed my perspective of the city in the way that made me see that everyone has their own story to tell and there’s many different ways to tell it.” Student Ethan Edobor stated, “I feel like the trip made me want to look more into photography. It was an interesting trip. I learned that there were stories behind the photos people used. In the cart about the immigrants, there was one thing that caught my attention: The person who took the photos went through the experiences the actual people in the photo went through. Overall, it was a very fun trip and it makes me look forward to future Brooklyn History outings.” The last student I got a chance to speak with about their experience on the trip is Lateefun Nahar. She stated, “The Photoville trip was very insightful and showed a lot of depth on struggle and passion. The ambitious photographers invited us in showing a glimpse of their work and that was very valuable. This trip really made me view things differently. There really is a lot more to see of this city and there are bigger issues out there that the city is sheltered from.”

All in all, this trip proved to be very beneficial to the seniors at Collegiate. Coupled with the first few classes they’ve had together, students are inspired to further delve into the history behind our city. What I find interesting about this class is that unlike last year’s Brooklyn History class, the students are all very open to sharing personal connections they have with their neighborhoods. Ultimately, I strongly believe that this class will thrive in succeeding to learn more about their infamous city. I cannot wait to see what fascinating facts they discover when it comes to the annual class exhibit come January. Below are some pictures I captured of Collegiate’s senior class at the Photoville trip. I hope they inspire you to take a moment and observe as well as appreciate the three dimensional city that we live in.